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C’wealth citizens may lose political rights in the U.K.

LONDON: Tens of thousands of Indian nationals living in Britain may be stripped of their traditional right to vote and to contest in British elections under plans to radically revamp the country’s citizenship regime.

A citizenship review, ordered by Prime Minister Gordon Brown, has controversially recommended phasing out of the right of Commonwealth citizens to participate fully in Britain’s political life.

The review, led by the former Attorney-General, Lord Goldsmith, has suggested that “only citizens should have the fullest rights to political participation.”

Historically, Commonwealth citizens have enjoyed full political rights, including the right to stand in British elections, in recognition of the significance Britain attaches to the idea of Commonwealth and its imperial links with its members.

It has been a unique arrangement in that even European Union nationals, living in Britain, do not have full voting rights. Nor do British nationals in most Commonwealth countries, including India, enjoy reciprocal rights. A British citizen cannot vote in an Indian election, let alone contest. Granting Commonwealth citizens the same political rights as British nationals was a way of emphasising Britain’s continuing engagement with its erstwhile colonies after the fall of the empire.

The move to take away these rights is part of a series of measures suggested by the Goldsmith panel to enhance the idea of British citizenship. A shared history flowing from Britain’s colonial links with Commonwealth countries is, obviously, not seen as a sufficient basis for an “enhanced” concept of British citizenship.

The proposal comes amid protests over plans to discontinue “ancestry” visas for citizens of Commonwealth countries such as New Zealand and South Africa as part of a shake-up of immigration laws.

Meanwhile, other measures aimed at deepening the idea of British citizenship include a National Day to coincide with the Queen’s Golden Jubilee and the London Olympics; and special citizenship ceremonies for school-leaving children to swear an oath of allegiance to the Queen.

Politicians in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have attacked the plans calling them “divisive.”

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C’wealth citizens may lose political rights in the U.K.

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